Um...I really am over my quota of blowout inspired pretty girl themes around here. So, with the anticipation of many a blowout to come, I have decided I needed somehting to mix in (the contention that I was somehow going to run out of pretty girls is ludicrous however (ha!)...just trying not to make these threads female-proof). The pretty girls wil be back...maybe soon. But the way the Kings are playing they were threatening to become a nightly event.
In any case, so my second approach here will get me through at least 5 blowouts this year itself. Seemed an appropriate approach with our team paying nightly homage to the bad ole days teams -- a trip down memory lane. The first edition: Top 10 Centers In Sacramento King History
Cisco ( C ) -- got off to the slow start, maybe containing Roy a bit but delivering nothing on the other side as Salmons was pretty much a one man gang. But with John disappearing after half, it was Cisco who stepped up and scored almost all of our points in the third. Good for Cisco. Bad sign for us. Cisco isn't that level of scorer. Legs looked shot late as everything was off the front of the rim and whatever defense may have been played early was done as well.
#1 Vlade Divac
Career Stats
With Kings: 99-04
Best Year With The Kings: 98-99 14.3pts 10.0reb 4.3ast 0.8stl 1.0blk 3.5flops
Of course everybody loves Vlade and we are in fact set to retire his number here in a few months. One of the more unselfish and lovable characters to pass through the NBA landscape and teamed with Webb to change, well, basically everything around here. We owe him a debt of gratitude. But when he ranks #1 on a list of your franchise's greatest centers...that's not a great sign. In fact as I parsed through our history, 12 and 9 type guys were basically our high end.
Hawes ( C+ ) -- struggled yet again with his offense, the shots are just not falling from anywhere. Was sloppy, and the boardwork was shoddy to say the least as we got squashed in there. But the one thing he did do was challenge Aldridge with his length, and came up with three early blocks as Aldrige chose to try to go right at him, finishing with 5 for the game. And so as it often is with Hawes, a tough grade. he almost always seems to contribute with something, but those somethings are sometimes, as is the case here, just islands awash in a sea of poop. How far do 5 blocks carry you on a poor night otherwise (and a night where you had the worst +/- on the team to boot)? Eh...at least he competed.
#2 Brad Miller
Career Stats
With Kings: 03-08
Best Year With The Kings: 03-04 14.1pts 10.3reb 4.3ast 0.9stl 1.2blk
So yes, Brad's time here is now drawing to a close, and no there has been little enough glory during his years in the middle, but such is the state of the Kings' history at center that not only is he our second best ever at the position, but there weren't even any real competitors. And yes if those best year stats look almost identical to Vlade's best year, its because they almsot are. Both guys came in, had their best year, and then started the slow decline.
Miller ( D ) -- quiet first half with limited minutes due to foul trouble -- and Mikki "The Worm" Moore's board dominance of course. there was no oomph or plan of attack, and Brad was barely involved. Oden continues to look sporadically clumsy against him, but sporadically clumsy to the tune oi doubling him up in virtually every stat in even fewer minutes. And then you throw in old Brad nightmare Pryzbilla, and the Blazers centers combined for 15pts 24rebs 3 blks in 43 minutes. Ours...cotnributed somewhat less.
#3 Spencer Hawes
Career Stats
With Kings: 07-08
Best Year With The Kings: 08-09 12.0pts 7.3reb 1.7ast 0.8stl 1.9blk
Speculative? Sure. But given what fills out the rest of this top ten, I felt almost no guilt at prematurely placing Spencer in the #3 slot. Heck, he doesn't even have to do that much to eventually become #1. In any case, at this point he's just another of our 12pt 8reb type centers, but he's also only 20. So I'm going to put him in this slot on talent alone, and even if he never gets any better if he stays healthy and has a reasonable tenure with the Kings I think he earns it.
Salmons ( B- ) -- came out just ridiculously hot, and had something like 16 points by the end of the first quarter, including 12 of our first 14 on 6 of 6 shooting. It was up to 21 by half, but he seemed to be laboring and I wondered how long it was going to take people to notice that his hot streak had concealed pathetic play by virtually anybody else. Once he cooled off....and that was pretty much the way it went. He ran out of gas, Brandon Roy never did, and we got blown out again. ANd boy did he run out of gas -- like Al Jefferson the night before, John came up with 21pts before the break, and a big fat zero after it. Meanwhile Roy himself exploded, and other than Cisco briefly coming to life to replace Salmons in the early third, nobody on the Kings even got anything at all going. Two double figure scorer. It was a great hot streak though. But a great streak in the first quarter does not a full game make. Or a blowout stave off.
#4 LaSalle "Tank" Thompson
Career Stats
With Kings: 85-89
Best Year With The Kings: 88-89 15.0pts 9.1reb 1.0ast 1.0stl 1.3blk
In the long ago days before becoming a doofy halftime announcer this was the Sacramento Kings' first center, and already we have reached the level of a guy who could not consistently hold down the starting spot, although some of that was not his fault but ratehr our disastrous pick of Joe Kleine (not making this list) as our first draft pick, and subsequent attempts to justify it by playing him. Tank was shortish but a powerfully built broad shouldered board muncher, and the antithesis of all the softish little no muscle definition finesse centers we've trotted through in the decade of Princetoning.
In any case, so my second approach here will get me through at least 5 blowouts this year itself. Seemed an appropriate approach with our team paying nightly homage to the bad ole days teams -- a trip down memory lane. The first edition: Top 10 Centers In Sacramento King History
Cisco ( C ) -- got off to the slow start, maybe containing Roy a bit but delivering nothing on the other side as Salmons was pretty much a one man gang. But with John disappearing after half, it was Cisco who stepped up and scored almost all of our points in the third. Good for Cisco. Bad sign for us. Cisco isn't that level of scorer. Legs looked shot late as everything was off the front of the rim and whatever defense may have been played early was done as well.
#1 Vlade Divac
Career Stats
With Kings: 99-04
Best Year With The Kings: 98-99 14.3pts 10.0reb 4.3ast 0.8stl 1.0blk 3.5flops
Of course everybody loves Vlade and we are in fact set to retire his number here in a few months. One of the more unselfish and lovable characters to pass through the NBA landscape and teamed with Webb to change, well, basically everything around here. We owe him a debt of gratitude. But when he ranks #1 on a list of your franchise's greatest centers...that's not a great sign. In fact as I parsed through our history, 12 and 9 type guys were basically our high end.
Hawes ( C+ ) -- struggled yet again with his offense, the shots are just not falling from anywhere. Was sloppy, and the boardwork was shoddy to say the least as we got squashed in there. But the one thing he did do was challenge Aldridge with his length, and came up with three early blocks as Aldrige chose to try to go right at him, finishing with 5 for the game. And so as it often is with Hawes, a tough grade. he almost always seems to contribute with something, but those somethings are sometimes, as is the case here, just islands awash in a sea of poop. How far do 5 blocks carry you on a poor night otherwise (and a night where you had the worst +/- on the team to boot)? Eh...at least he competed.
#2 Brad Miller
Career Stats
With Kings: 03-08
Best Year With The Kings: 03-04 14.1pts 10.3reb 4.3ast 0.9stl 1.2blk
So yes, Brad's time here is now drawing to a close, and no there has been little enough glory during his years in the middle, but such is the state of the Kings' history at center that not only is he our second best ever at the position, but there weren't even any real competitors. And yes if those best year stats look almost identical to Vlade's best year, its because they almsot are. Both guys came in, had their best year, and then started the slow decline.
Miller ( D ) -- quiet first half with limited minutes due to foul trouble -- and Mikki "The Worm" Moore's board dominance of course. there was no oomph or plan of attack, and Brad was barely involved. Oden continues to look sporadically clumsy against him, but sporadically clumsy to the tune oi doubling him up in virtually every stat in even fewer minutes. And then you throw in old Brad nightmare Pryzbilla, and the Blazers centers combined for 15pts 24rebs 3 blks in 43 minutes. Ours...cotnributed somewhat less.
#3 Spencer Hawes
Career Stats
With Kings: 07-08
Best Year With The Kings: 08-09 12.0pts 7.3reb 1.7ast 0.8stl 1.9blk
Speculative? Sure. But given what fills out the rest of this top ten, I felt almost no guilt at prematurely placing Spencer in the #3 slot. Heck, he doesn't even have to do that much to eventually become #1. In any case, at this point he's just another of our 12pt 8reb type centers, but he's also only 20. So I'm going to put him in this slot on talent alone, and even if he never gets any better if he stays healthy and has a reasonable tenure with the Kings I think he earns it.
Salmons ( B- ) -- came out just ridiculously hot, and had something like 16 points by the end of the first quarter, including 12 of our first 14 on 6 of 6 shooting. It was up to 21 by half, but he seemed to be laboring and I wondered how long it was going to take people to notice that his hot streak had concealed pathetic play by virtually anybody else. Once he cooled off....and that was pretty much the way it went. He ran out of gas, Brandon Roy never did, and we got blown out again. ANd boy did he run out of gas -- like Al Jefferson the night before, John came up with 21pts before the break, and a big fat zero after it. Meanwhile Roy himself exploded, and other than Cisco briefly coming to life to replace Salmons in the early third, nobody on the Kings even got anything at all going. Two double figure scorer. It was a great hot streak though. But a great streak in the first quarter does not a full game make. Or a blowout stave off.
#4 LaSalle "Tank" Thompson
Career Stats
With Kings: 85-89
Best Year With The Kings: 88-89 15.0pts 9.1reb 1.0ast 1.0stl 1.3blk
In the long ago days before becoming a doofy halftime announcer this was the Sacramento Kings' first center, and already we have reached the level of a guy who could not consistently hold down the starting spot, although some of that was not his fault but ratehr our disastrous pick of Joe Kleine (not making this list) as our first draft pick, and subsequent attempts to justify it by playing him. Tank was shortish but a powerfully built broad shouldered board muncher, and the antithesis of all the softish little no muscle definition finesse centers we've trotted through in the decade of Princetoning.
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